Sociocybernetic Perspectives on Power

When we consider crucial contemporary issues such as governance, authoritarianism, or social movements, we always face the complex character of what power is. This is a process that traverses all social systems. From the point of view of emerging social forces, power relates to a faculty of self-organization that boosts self-determination. Yet, at the same time, the specific exercises of power produce endless asymmetries that become embedded in social forms, creating multiple forms of resistance.

The goal of this session is to encourage further discussions about power from a sociocybernetic and systems-theory framework. Our mains objectives are to examine how the mechanisms of power operate, and to discuss the tools of sociocybernetics that can contribute to the understanding of the complexities of power. We welcome theoretical dissertations, research findings or case studies that broaden and develop the analysis of power, its operations, its modes and/or its mechanisms.